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Hey--
I was kind of curious about figuring out if my grandpa was a conservative or a Republican. He's long gone--since the '70s--and my grandma doesn't talk about him, and he never talked politics in the house.
However, we found his voting card from 1963. It sadly doesn't list party affiliation (It's not that he didn't answer what his affilitation was, but the voter card just doesn't have a line for it) but I'm curious about it. I'd say registering to vote, especially one year before a BIG election, shows an interest in voting. His wife, my grandmother, always votes in every Presidential election dutifully and has for decades.
Some facts:
He was a WWII veteran and served for almost 7 years, but discouraged his daughter from going in the military because he felt she wouldn't be treated well there (being a woman).
He also was a member after the war of the American Legion at least in 1958. I'm not sure if he was a member after '58, but we have his guard for '58.
He was at various times a grocer, a chauffeur and other things. But his main two occupations were as a Security Guard (and he got licensed to carry a gun while on duty in '59) and also a USPS worker.
He was a Catholic and second generation American Italian.
He was a city dweller. His relatives, that we know of, voted Republican (His brother in law as well as my grandmother and my aunts all vote Republican. My grandmother did vote for Kennedy in 1960, though, and was crushed when he was killed. But at some point--possibly as early as the '60s or '70s--registered Republican).

I don't know if there's any way to find out someone's party affiliation, but given those facts what do you think? I think the American Legion membership might be the biggest clue--I don't know if in the '50s they were a conservative body, but it might be a clue.

I think he was part of the Silent Majority and probably voted a split ticket. Personally, he probably leaned right on social issues.

Ultimately, his views politically were probably middle of the road and lukewarm (as is true of most people, now and then).

Meh. Don't worry about it.

Dunno about the right on social issues--He was a bigtime gambler. Loved the Horsetrack.
I'm just asking cause the man is a pretty big hero of mine, and I think one's political views tell a bit about their views on life in general--It's one of the prisms through which one can view the world.

Dunno about the right on social issues--He was a bigtime gambler. Loved the Horsetrack.
I'm just asking cause the man is a pretty big hero of mine, and I think one's political views tell a bit about their views on life in general--It's one of the prisms through which they view the world.

I play the dogs and the ponies from time to time. Do you think I'm left-leaning because of that? :D

Hey--
I was kind of curious about figuring out if my grandpa was a conservative or a Republican. He's long gone--since the '70s--and my grandma doesn't talk about him, and he never talked politics in the house.
However, we found his voting card from 1963. It sadly doesn't list party affiliation (It's not that he didn't answer what his affilitation was, but the voter card just doesn't have a line for it) but I'm curious about it. I'd say registering to vote, especially one year before a BIG election, shows an interest in voting. His wife, my grandmother, always votes in every Presidential election dutifully and has for decades.
Some facts:
He was a WWII veteran and served for almost 7 years, but discouraged his daughter from going in the military because he felt she wouldn't be treated well there (being a woman).
He also was a member after the war of the American Legion at least in 1958. I'm not sure if he was a member after '58, but we have his guard for '58.
He was at various times a grocer, a chauffeur and other things. But his main two occupations were as a Security Guard (and he got licensed to carry a gun while on duty in '59) and also a USPS worker.
He was a Catholic and second generation American Italian.
He was a city dweller. His relatives, that we know of, voted Republican (His brother in law as well as my grandmother and my aunts all vote Republican. My grandmother did vote for Kennedy in 1960, though, and was crushed when he was killed. But at some point--possibly as early as the '60s or '70s--registered Republican).

I don't know if there's any way to find out someone's party affiliation, but given those facts what do you think? I think the American Legion membership might be the biggest clue--I don't know if in the '50s they were a conservative body, but it might be a clue.

Union guy (USPS), Catholic, Italian, FDR/Depression era, generally blue collar, urban, New Yorker ... I'm going with old school Democrat. Would almost certainly be appalled with the D party today, but at the time I'd say that from a demographic standpoint, in my observation, he probably voted Democrat.

That is almost entirely the profile of my grandparents, both of whom were at least as conservative as I am from a fiscal standpoint, and much more socially "conservative" than I am, and they voted Democrat every time. My grandmother actually despised Bill Clinton, but she went down to the polls and pulled the donkey for him twice because FDR was a Democrat, and that was good enough for her. It could have been the Devil incarnate who was on that ballot, and if he had a D next to his name, she would have voted for him.